Exhibit: The Shirley Chisholm Way: Brooklyn’s Blueprint for Change

On View Through November 15, 2026

Join Prospect Park Alliance and the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute (SCCI) for a powerful new exhibit exploring the enduring legacy of a Brooklyn icon. Organized around seven life lessons drawn from Chisholm’s tenacious career, the exhibition features stunning portraits by artist Al Johnson alongside rarely seen photographs and campaign memorabilia. Curated by Barbara Bullard, Creative Producer and President of SCCI, these materials offer inspirational insights into how Brooklyn’s beloved daughter broke down gender and racial barriers to become the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. This exhibit provides visitors with a vital space to reflect on Chisholm’s impact as Prospect Park Alliance prepares to welcome a new public monument in her honor at the Parkside and Ocean Avenue entrance in 2027.

The Shirley Chisholm Way is a featured part of Prospect Park Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative. This critical project is transforming the museum into an inclusive space that explores the complex histories, resistance, and resilience of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking, upon whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rest, as well as the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.

Since 1977, the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute has been at the forefront of art, culture, justice and economic sustainability. Established with the official permission and personal participation of Congresswoman Chisholm herself, the institute works to preserve her legendary public service career by merging it with 21st-century activism and innovation. SCCI directly aligns with grassroots groups and frontline communities to create substantive, community-based partnerships and strategic collaborations alongside leaders of governmental and mainstream organizations.